VET Products for the 21st Century - National Skills Standards Council

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Students in remote localities face particularchallenges in being able to access training andworkplaces. There is also an important and growinginterface between formal VET and communitybasededucation and training providers.It should be recognised that regardless of theirlearning pathway, the vast majority of students areengaged in VET for vocational and work relatedpurposes. However, some people work in theoccupations for which they have not trained andothers work in occupations for which they do nothave relevant formal qualifications 7 . This suggeststhat the ability to learn ‘on the job’ and the capacityto adapt to new job roles and circumstances isimportant for individuals and the workforcegenerally.These imperatives suggest the following threemajor roles for VET in assisting to meet the COAGoutcomes:• building sound foundation skills, in particularliteracy and numeracy at levels required foreffective participation in the workforce and forfurther learning;• developing technical and occupational skillsrequired for specific jobs; and• developing the wider range of broadercapabilities required for specific jobs and thecapacity to take on new roles and jobs as thelabour market changes.It is therefore proposed that the definition ofcompetence be revised to make explicit the factthat competence needs to embody the ability totransfer and apply skills and knowledge to newsituations and environments and that VETqualifications allow for both occupational andfoundation skills outcomes.4 . 3 E q u i t y c o n s i d e r a t i o n sThe VET system is a key mechanism for deliveringthe nation’s productivity, workforce participationand social inclusion objectives. Yet, the NationalVET Advisory Alliance in its final report to Ministers(2008) noted that:Annual National Report performancemeasures (2006) for female students,people with a disability, those with alanguage background other than Englishand Indigenous students, indicate a lackof progress particularly for Indigenousstudents and students with disabilities inthe VET system. 8Additionally, they advised that:• Over a four-year period (2003-2006), relative to all students, there had been little improvement in the proportion of students in the four equity groups participating in VET.• Over the four-year period, there had only beena marginal increase in the load pass rate forIndigenous students, students with a disabilityand people who speak a language other thanEnglish at home. Women’s load pass ratesare at the same level as the overall VETstudent population.• In 2006, people with a disability were muchless likely than any other student group to bestudying at Certificate III and above courselevels. Indigenous students were alsounderrepresented at these levels and overrepresentedat Certificate I and II or non AQTFlevels. This is of concern since Certificate Iand II level and non-AQTF level courses areless likely to lead to employment.• While there had been a decline in furtherstudy and employment outcomes for all VETstudents over the four-year period, the declineis much worse for the four equity groups. ForIndigenous Australians and people with adisability who in 2006 were 14% and 22%respectively below other students inemployment outcomes, the falling trend over 4years is of major concern. 9In the face of these performance outcomes, it iscritical that a revitalised policy framework for VETProducts for the 21 st Century caters for the diversityof learners it must engage, if the VET sector is tomeet national participation and productivity targetsand ensure that it maintains its strong reputation ofmaking a difference to the lives of those whostruggle to learn or work. In particular, trainingproducts and services of the VET sector must besufficiently flexible to cater for learners whose lifeexperiences, capacities, motivations, resources andneed for particular educational and other supportsare incredibly diverse, complex and in some cases,expensive.Given the VET system’s central role in meetingequity inclusivity goals and the imminentestablishment of the National VET Equity AdvisoryCouncil (NVEAC), it will be critical for the NQC andNVEAC to jointly conduct a review on how best toensure that equity needs are addressed.7The 2008 student outcomes data from NCVER indicatesthat ‘Overall, 30.3% of graduates were employed in the sameoccupation group as their training course. Another 33.8%were employed in other occupations but found their trainingrelevant. 16.8% were employed in other occupations andfound their training not relevant to their current job’.8National VET Advisory Alliance final report, unpublished, p49National VET Advisory Alliance final report, unpublished, p5VET PRODUCTS FOR THE 21 ST CENTURY - 11
5 . P r o p o s e d p o l i c y f r a m e w o r k a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s5 . P r o p o s e d p o l i c y f r a m e w o r k a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s5. Proposed policy framework and recommendationsOver the past two decades, there have beensignificant reforms to VET courses, providers andsystems to develop a national training system. Akey reform has been the development of nationalindustry competency standards to define industrycompetency requirements for the occupationscovered by the VET sector. Training Packages(introduced in 1997), have provided a mechanismfor directly linking qualifications and standards andensuring that outcomes from qualifications meetthese standards.In relation to the COAG outcomes, there are twothreshold issues that must be addressed inconsidering any revised policy framework fornational VET products, the extent to which the:• current approach to defining, developing andassessing competence in Australia is sufficientto help achieve the COAG outcomes; and• current suite of VET qualifications specifiedthrough National Training Packages arerelevant to the needs, circumstances andintentions of the diverse groups of VETlearners, can be consistently and reliablyassessed in terms of workplace competence,and can also meet the diverse needs ofindividual enterprises.Along with these threshold issues, previous workundertaken by the NQC highlights the need forconsideration of issues relating to the structure andcontent of Training Packages as they have evolvedover the last ten years.The outcomes of this project signal unanimoussupport for the key pillars of Australia’s VETsystem: one single national system, with industrydeterminedoutcomes relevant to work, reflected innationally portable qualifications. The desire topreserve and protect these aspects, and in somecases extend them is very evident.Many feel that change is happening, and realimprovements are being made. Further change,they believe, is still needed, while preserving gainsmade to date.A number of concerns regarding the capability ofthe VET workforce also emerged. While this isbeyond the terms of reference for the JSC , this isseen as an important consideration in ensuring theconsistent application and interpretation of VETpolicies, concepts, and requirements (especially butnot limited to Training Package packaging rules)and it concerns all key players (including trainers,assessors, auditors, and training packagedevelopers). This will become more critical given anageing and increasingly casualised VET workforce.Based on the outcomes of the nationalconsultations, the Joint Steering Committeeproposes the following policy framework to improvethe flexibility and responsiveness of the VETsystem. It should be noted that all of theassociated recommendations have resourcingimplications.VET PRODUCTS FOR THE 21 ST CENTURY - 12
Page 1 and 2: ContentsVET PRODUCTSFOR THE 21 STCE
Page 3 and 4: L e t t e r f r o m t h e C h a i r
Page 5 and 6: human capital and COAG has establis
Page 7 and 8: 1 . 6 R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
Page 9 and 10: 2 . I n t r o d u c t i o n2. Intro
Page 11: 4 . M e e t i n g d i v e r s e n e
Page 15 and 16: 5 . 1 D e f i n i t i o n o f c o m
Page 17 and 18: 5 . 3 A s s e s s m e n t r e q u i
Page 19 and 20: 5 . 6 N e w d e s i g n f o r T r a
Page 21 and 22: 5 . 7 I n d u s t r y e n g a g e m
Page 23 and 24: Targeted stakeholder consultations

VET Products for the 21st Century - National Skills Standards Council

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